Affairs of Court
by burkygirl
Summary: The heir to Panem's throne is about to come of age. Each district has sent a representative to be considered as her potential spouse. But Princess Katniss Everdeen has made up her mind already. If she is to be Queen, she will choose no King.


The hem of her evening gown swished against the floor when she came to a stop in front of the double doors of the east wing. Two guards in full livery stepped from the shadows to allow her entrance to the section of the castle where the royal family lived. Katniss expressed her thanks as she swept inside. Just to the end of the corridor, she reasoned. If she could get to the end of the hall, this ridiculous farce of an evening would be over.

Twelve suitors. Twelve! All lined up to spin her round the ballroom for the chance to spend a few minutes in her presence. She'd told her Uncle Haymitch it was a complete waste of time to have each of the noble families send their sons to court. She'd already made up her mind. If she was to be Queen, she would choose no king. Nevertheless, as regent, her Uncle had insisted, and she'd been forced to spend the evening being passed from man to man like a toy they'd had to share.

It appeared she was the only one who didn't enjoy herself. Her ladies-in-waiting scurried along in her wake, giggling behind their fans and discussing the "delightful" evening. It had been like no Harvest Festival ball they'd ever seen; the food, the gowns and the handsome men from far away lands. Finnick, Earl of Odair, the bronzed god from Four with the green eyes and copper hair. The dark, handsome Lord Thresh from Eleven with the bulging muscles and fierce stare. Peeta, Duke of Mellark, whose blue eyes and kind nature were known throughout his home in District 12 and beyond. Lord Cato from Two, whose prowess with a sword was legendary. It went on and on, and once they finished with the noblemen, they started on the royal guards and how handsome they looked in their dress uniforms.

Only her sister, Primrose, was brave enough to approach her, hooking their elbows together and leaning briefly on Katniss's shoulder. "They think you're in a mood." Katniss huffed in reply. "I told them they were right." She smiled slyly at her sister. "They don't need to know why."

Katniss rolled her eyes. It didn't matter what they thought. Other than Prim, there were really only a handful of ladies at court she could actually stand. They were also in the castle on Uncle Haymitch's say-so.

"It's such a waste," Katniss complained. "Of time, of money, of food! How many of those districts could really afford to send those men here? Our country is struggling, Prim. People are hungry and we're having a ball?"

Prim made a tsk noise with her tongue, barely discernable over the rustle of their hooped skirts. "Katniss, Uncle Haymitch explained all of this to you."

They arrived at the door to her chambers and Katniss pasted on her best fake smile before turning to address her ladies. "Thank you all very much for a lovely evening. My sister and Lavinia will help me from here. I'll see you all in the morning."

After a flurry of curtsies, her ladies fluttered back down the hall like a flock of colourful birds, no doubt seeking a cozy spot to roost and conduct their analysis of the evening. When she turned back to the door, the guard in front of Katniss's chambers snapped to attention, but his cocky smile remained. Katniss had a particular fondness for the guard and his habit of bending the rules without quite stepping over the line. "Your highnesses."

She acknowledged him with a nod. "Good evening, Darius."

Offering her a sharp salute, Darius opened the door to allow Katniss and Prim to pass through into her sitting room. Her maid Lavinia was sewing by the fire and jumped to her feet when they entered.

"Your highnesses! I trust you had a good evening?"

It was safer not to answer the question, she decided, and instead flopped down on the sofa and kicked off her slippers with a sigh. Her maid whisked them away into the adjoining dressing room. Katniss gestured for her sister to join her.

"Seriously, Katniss," admonished Prim as she sat down. "I don't know why you had to be so difficult about tonight. You know the tradition."

Katniss's head dropped against the back of the couch and she tried not to wince where her tiara dug into the tender spots on her scalp just below the crown. "Spare me the lecture, Primrose. I've had this drilled into my head since I could walk. When the heir is about to come of age, each district sends a representative to be considered as a potential spouse. It unites the districts and the Capitol, blah, blah, blah."

"Katniss, don't be like that."

"Well, you weren't the piece of meat being advertised tonight, Prim. And it makes no difference, because my mind's already made up."

Her sister stood and straightened the skirt of her pink silk gown. "Katniss, they didn't know that. Had you stopped to consider that each of those men likely felt like they were the ones on display tonight? What of their feelings? And what about your ladies-in-waiting? Once your decision is announced, they will have had the opportunity to meet some of the most eligible men in the country. Think of the benefits unions between the districts could mean for Panem."

Katniss buried her eyes in the crook of her arm. The stiff white lace trailing from the cuff of her sleeve scratched at her cheek. Haymitch had said all of this already. "You're right of course, Little Duck." Katniss's arm fell to the sofa and she smiled at her sister. "I should just abdicate and let you be queen."

Prim shook her head and put her hands on her tiny waist. "Don't you dare. I don't have your strength, Katniss." Katniss scoffed. "It's true. You have no idea, the effect you can have."

Katniss stood and held out her arms to Prim. "If you say so," she sighed as she wrapped her arms around her sister's slender frame. "I love you."

"I love you too, Katniss. Get some sleep so you'll be well rested for the hunting party tomorrow."

Katniss smiled, knowing that she had a day outside to look forward to, even if she had to take a bevvy of posturing men and insipid women who were only interested in hunting for a husband with her. "Good night, Little Duck."

When Katniss turned around, she discovered Lavinia hovering by the sofa, waiting to help her prepare for bed. Before long, she found herself seated on a soft stool in her dressing room, free of all of her evening garb except her silken shift while her maid brushed her locks into a river of chocolate that flowed over her shoulders and down her back.

"All was well tonight, Lavinia?"

"Yes, ma'am." Lavinia began to plait her hair into a braid as she had every night since they were children and she was hired as Katniss's maid. Katniss caught the her eye in the mirror and Lavinia nodded. "Everything went as planned,"

Katniss gave her maid a fond smile. "Leave it down tonight. It's late, Lavinia. I'll see you in the morning." Handing over her brush and offering Katniss a grateful curtsy, Lavinia slipped out the servant's door. Katniss brushed her hair out again and then rose from her dressing table to the door to her bedroom. Her heart pounded in her ears as opened the door.

When she stepped into the room, he sat up in bed and gave her a cocky grin. He'd removed his overcoat, his waistcoat and his cravat. They were all draped neatly over a chair. His shoes were in a tidy line beneath it.

"Peeta!" Her feet barely touched the floor as she closed the distance between them and leaped onto the bed. He captured her lips with his own and swallowed the contented sigh that escaped her as soon as she was wrapped in his warm embrace. Her lips parted like the petals of a rose opening to the morning sun and he slipped his tongue inside, coaxing hers to tangle with his in an intimate dance while his fingers wound into her hair. His teeth sank into her bottom lip even as they sank into the soft covers on her enormous bed and he rolled her beneath him.

With Peeta cradled between her legs where she'd wanted him all evening, Katniss pulled away and gazed up at him, a slight smile playing over her lips while her fingers toyed with the ends of his ash blonde hair, caught in a ribbon at the nape of his neck where it curled appealingly. His hand slid over her exposed shoulder, then down her side to ruck up her shift and stroke her bare thigh before grasping her hip tightly to hold her snugly against him. She could feel his rod, rock hard beneath his green silk breeches, when he pressed himself to her already swollen core. Her breath caught in her throat and her hips bucked helplessly against him.

His lips moved along her jaw to her ear and whispered, "You wore that orange dress just for me didn't you?" She shivered in response and he lowered his head to suckle the sensitive crevice between her jaw and her ear. She keened in delight and and he groaned softly. "Damn, Katniss. I thought it was going to kill me, watching you dance with all of those other men while you shone like a girl on fire."

She buried her face in the open neck of his linen shirt while her hands tugged it from his breeches, eager to explore the planes of his chest. She pulled it over his head and hummed in satisfaction. "It was awful," she complained as her lips moved against his chest. She reached down to squeeze the round, firm cheeks of his arse and felt them flex beneath her fingertips. "All I wanted was to be with you."

"And so we are now, my love," he reminded her as his hand slid up her shift and she arched her back into the heat of his palm as it moved over her torso to close over her breast. He rolled the sensitive tip between his fingers and Katniss exhaled shakily as more heat pooled between her legs where they were separated only by the fabric of his breeches.

"Peeta," she sighed, and then pulled her shift over her head and tossed it to the floor, baring herself to him before reaching for the buttons on his breeches. They soon joined her shift on the floor along with his hose.

He was a beautiful man. She marvelled at his broad shoulders and the light dusting of hair that covered his breastbone and trailed down his chest where it curled about his rigid member. His blue eyes glittered like sapphires in the candlelight as he admired her slender form before lowering her once again to the mattress and capturing the tip of her breast between his lips. She whispered his name again, bowing into a bridge and burying her fingers into his hair. He teased the taut peak with tongue and teeth while she writhed against him before moving to the underside of her breast, savouring the salt on her skin from a night spent dancing. Then they slid, lower, down over her sternum to play across her taut belly while his fingers travelled up her thighs, brushing against her glistening outer lips, rubbing small circles that made her whimper. He parted her gently, seeking her bud of pleasure.

Katniss rolled her hips in time with the rhythm of his fingers. She was ensnared in his trap, every caress tying her more firmly into a knot that only he could release. She bit down on her lip, knowing if she was too loud, the guards would come rushing in to protect her. Sensing she was close, Peeta brought his lips back to her own, swallowing her moans as he slipped first one, and then two digits inside, continuing to massage the little ball of nerves with his thumb. Her breathing shallowed, and then she inhaled sharply; her eyes closing in mute ecstasy as her body poured into his hand.

She tore her lips from his, her eyes wild. "Now," she ordered, every bit the queen she was destined to become. "I need you inside me now, Peeta."

He buried himself within her and she hissed in satisfaction. He flexed his jaw, desperate to keep from crying out in relief at their joining. He could make love to Katniss a thousand times, planned to do so for the rest of his life, but would never tire of the way it felt when she was wrapped around him like a velvet glove. Katniss raised her knees in an attempt to take him deeper.

He braced his hands above her shoulders and began to move. "Touch yourself, Katniss. I want to feel you reach your climax while I'm inside you."

Tentatively, she reached between her legs to explore her womanhood. Her fingers cruised over the centre of her pleasure, rekindling a now-familiar ache inside her. She gasped and felt her body began to tighten around him. He moaned softly and increased the pace of his thrusts. Emboldened by the idea that she could bring them both pleasure, her fingers flicked over the little bundle while her hips pistoned from the bed, chasing a mutual release. Before long, their mouths were fused together once more, Peeta's shaft held in a fluttering vice as she flew for a second time that evening. At the last second, he pulled out and spilled his seed onto her stomach before collapsing against her, whispering words of devotion in her ear.

Later, snuggled under the covers and wrapped in each other's arms, Peeta's knuckles brushed against her cheek as he offered her a shy smile. "I love you."

"I love you too." She brushed a lock of hair that had escaped his ponytail from his eyes with her right hand. "I love you so much, Peeta. Always."

Peeta glowed with happiness, capturing her hand in his to kiss the knuckle above the elaborate ring on her finger, a single black pearl peeking like the centre of a flower from a circle of sparkling diamonds.

"We'll be able to put this where it belongs soon," he said. "I'm so tired of taking risks to be together, Katniss. I hate playing games."

Katniss toyed with the braid on the coverlet, her expression troubled. "You know I'd announce our engagement tomorrow if I could, Peeta. But this isn't just about you and I. A union between the Capitol and a particular district through marriage is seen as an advantage to the district. They all know we've been friends since we were children." She sighed and raised her eyes to his. "We just have to get through tomorrow's hunt, then dinner, and everyone will return to their districts the following day. By the time you get home, a letter will already be on it's way, inviting you to return to court."

He snorted and rolled to his back. "I've had an open invitation to court since your uncle married my aunt Maysilee 10 years ago."

"You have," she acknowledged turning to look at him. "But this invitation will mean that our courtship is real at last. It means you'll be my Prince and Queen's consort."

"It was always real, Katniss," he replied.

"Always," she answered.


End file.
